The Herald's Vision
by thatXoneXchick9999
Summary: It started as separate boys' and girls' nights, perfectly innocent. Or as innocent as two packs of teenagers can be. When the bored girls patch into the boys' video feed for some spying and the bored Herald opens a portal to show his friends the future, what both groups see is anything but expected. It might be the start of an adventure that could change all their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Hello again. Thought I'd try my hand at something other than fluff. Unfortunately, I still can't do much more than oneshots. However, this is my attempt at some angst, and I'd really appreciate reviews/constructive criticism. Obviously, I do not own _Teen Titans _or some of the dialogue I'm sure many of you will recognize.

* * *

Raven had never been to a "slumber party," nor had she ever had any particular desire to go to one, but when Bumblebee insisted on kicking her teammates out of her tower for "girl time," Starfire had taken it as an invitation to drag them both across the country. By the time they got there, the tower had been bombarded by females and their paraphernalia. Kole, Pantha, Argent, and Jinx were among the several women painting their nails and gossiping about boys. The stupidest thing they had done was start a drinking game, which revealed secrets and crushes and other things Raven wished had gone unsaid, and left the inhabitants of the Titans East tower in varying degrees of drunkenness. So far, slumber parties were unfortunately exactly like what she had occasionally read about.

Beast Boy had also read a bit about slumber parties. Or, more accurately, he'd _watched _a bit about slumber parties. While he hadn't expected the girls' slumber party to be _exactly _like those strictly educational films he only occasionally watched, especially with someone like Raven there, he was a bit disappointed in what he'd seen since Cyborg had patched the Titans Tower into the Titans East connection. There hadn't been a single pillow fight, he'd dozed through an excruciating two hours of whatever Channing Tatum movie they'd put in, and Kid Flash's bragging about how hot it was that Jinx swung both ways seemed more and more like an exaggeration. The most interesting thing the girls had done was play a drinking game where Beast Boy had learned some _very _interesting things about his fellow titans, particularly a certain sorceress's hidden fondness for the color green. He was still measuring the pros and cons of teasing her about it when she came home.

"I wonder what the guys are doing?" Kole asked.

"Probably the same thing we are," Jinx replied. "Drinking and bitching about stuff."

"Well, she's half-right," Speedy commented from across the country. "but most of our bitching is because Robin won't _let _us drink." He punched the Boy Wonder on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Annoyed, Robin punched him back before turning his attention back on the screen.

On the screen, Bumblebee, who had been lounging on the floor suddenly sat up. "We don't have to guess what the boys are doing. We can just watch them!"

"What do you mean?" Argent asked.

"What does she mean?" Kid Flash asked, suddenly looking worried.

"I mean," Bumblebee explained, "We can play around with the connection between this tower and the one in Jump and hook into their video feeds. We can literally know exactly what they're doing! Sparky showed me how!"

"Shit!" Cyborg yelled, panicked. "Fucking shit!" He bolted over to the controls as Bumblebee went to her computer across the country. Cyborg managed to turn the boys' connection off right when Bumblebee turned the girls' connection on.

"So, are they—" Beast Boy started.

"Yo, shut up, man!" Cyborg smacked the back of his head.

"Ow!"

"What are they talking about?" Kole asked.

"Something stupid, I'm sure." Raven replied, not looking up from a book she seemed to have pulled from nowhere. Given the nature of her powers, that assumption was fairly likely. Marking her place, she looked up at the computer screen which broadcast a view of the boys gathered in the original Titans' tower. They were all silent and looked rather uncomfortable, darting looks between one another.

"Do they know we're watching?" Raven asked.

"They shouldn't." Bumblebee replied. She tapped the screen and yelled. "Yo, Sparky! You hear me?!"

None of the boys onscreen reacted. Bumblebee looked at her operating board.

"It says we've got a one way connection, and they didn't answer me. We can see them, but they can't see us."

"I didn't expect them to be this boring." Jinx commented.

"Perhaps we have caught them at an awkward time?" Starfire suggested diplomatically.

"Perhaps." Raven echoed. She was moving to pick up her book when Herald broke the silence in the other tower.

"So... you guys wanna see the future?"

"What are we going to see?" Kid Flash asked.

Herald shrugged. "Something random probably. I can only pick where the horn takes me if I go to an alternate dimension. The future's a whole different animal."

"We won't be affecting the future by looking, will we?" Robin asked, and Raven nodded her approval at his question.

"Everything we do affects the future." Herald replied.

"Not helpful." Robin retorted, and Herald shrugged.

"I think it's sounds awesome," Beast Boy chimed in. "I say we do it!"

Internally, Raven snorted at Beast Boy's suggestion. He would.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea..." Robin started.

"Come on, Rob," Cyborg interrupted. "He said it would be something random, so the odds of it being either important or about us are pretty slim."

"I say do it." Speedy added.

Kid Flash nodded. "Do it."

Jericho gave a thumbs up, and Mas and Menos began chattering excitedly in Spanish. Herald took those as "yeses."

"Let's do it." He picked up his horn, twisted the mouthpiece a certain way, and then blew. In front of them, a portal ripped open, and through it, the boys, and the girls by extension, could see through it. Robin leveled a glare at Cyborg.

"Pretty slim, huh?"

Cyborg just grinned sheepishly.

Inside the portal, everyone could see that a fight was going on. Though they were older, and their outfits had changed rather dramatically in some cases, it was obvious who the combatants were. Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were fighting an older Mumbo.

"Dude, Mumbo's not dead by then?" Beast Boy demanded. "We look like we're like fifteen years older!"

"I'd say ten." Jinx speculated in the other tower. She cocked her head. "And Robin looks gooood." She eyed his new black and blue uniform appreciatively.

Starfire glared at her before looking back at the screen just in time to see Mumbo throw some kind of spell. It hit older Beast Boy, sending him smack into a building, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Dude!" young Beast Boy whined.

"Changeling!" Older Starfire yelled.

"At least I get a cool, new name." Beast Boy commented as the older Starfire flew over to "Changeling" and tried to shake him awake.

"Don't bother!" Mumbo taunted. "He's in a trance! And he'll stay that way until I'm long gone!"

Angry, Starfire put Changeling down and flew rapidly at Mumbo, flinging starbolts. However, rather than following her to focus on the battle, the portal remained focused on Changeling.

"Are we just going to stare at Beast Boy's carcass until this vision thing is over?" Speedy asked sarcastically.

Though she didn't admit it (and _never _would), watching the older Beast Boy for the remainder of the vision didn't seem all that terrible an idea to Raven. This Changeling was taller, more muscular, and very obviously more mature. He was a man, and even in the brief moment she got to watch him fight, he seemed to carry himself with more dignity and wisdom than Raven had seen in anyone, even Robin. It appealed to her in a way that not even the handsome Aqualad had, something that both confused and irritated her. Shaking her head to clear it of the foolish thoughts, she watched the screen and was surprised to see the vision closing in on Changeling. When it got to his forehead, the scene suddenly changed, and all they could see was an icy tundra. A blizzard was blowing full force, complete with shrieking wind, and rapidly falling snow being whipped around in all directions. In the middle of the landscape, "Changeling" was hunched over, rubbing his arms for warmth and looking around.

"Nightwing?" he yelled.

"This future sucks." Beast Boy declared, and Robin tried to shush him. "Seriously! Where even am I?" He glared at Robin for trying to shush him again.

"Starfire!" Changeling called. He started walking.

"I think we're in your future self's head, man." Herald guessed.

Beast Boy looked back and forth between Herald and his horn. "You can do that?"

The Herald shrugged. "I guess so."

Changeling cupped his hands around his mouth and practically roared. "CYBORG!"

For a few minutes, everyone was silent as they watched Changeling make his way through the tundra, calling for his teammates. Once, he even turned himself into a howler monkey and let out a bloodcurdling screech that probably could have been heard for miles. He turned back into himself and called for "Nightwing" again.

"I just noticed something. How come you're not asking Raven for help?" Kid Flash asked.

Confused, Beast Boy looked back at the portal. "I don't know."

"Does this Changeling not know you would help him if he asked, Raven?" Starfire asked.

"If he doesn't, he's an even bigger idiot then, than he is now." Raven answered. However, her terse reply didn't quite mask the concern Starfire heard in her tone.

"I guess he just knows Raven would smack him for getting into that mess." young Beast Boy joked, and the other boys laughed. Raven glared at the screen. She opened her mouth to let out a pointless insult, but Bumblebee spoke first.

"I think Changeling sees something."

See something he did. Everyone watched intently as Changeling quickened his steps to get to what looked like some kind of bunker. It was a rectangular building that looked to be about seventy feet long, twenty feet high, and maybe forty feet wide. The length side was facing Changeling, and he could see what looked like two metal doors in the middle of the rectangle.

"That looks like the door to the ops center." Beast Boy commented, and Robin and Cyborg agreed. When the changeling was a couple of feet from the doors, they slid open, and he rushed inside the building.

"Not smart," Robin commented. "An enemy could be in there."

"I think I'd rather fight somebody than freeze to death." Cyborg commented.

"Apparently, I would too." Beast Boy replied, watching his older self rub the cold from his arms and stomp the snow from his boots. The inside of the place looked as grey and grim as the outside, but Changeling appeared to be warming up. Beast Boy was surprised at how similar the bunker thing was to the hallway outside the ops center. Cautiously, his older self walked forward to another set of double doors. The slid open, and he entered a brightly lit room that was an exact replica of the ops center in the original Titans tower. The room appeared to be unoccupied, but when he took a few steps forward, everyone in both rooms could see the pale woman sitting on the floor in front of the couch. In her lap, it looked like she was holding a doll; a cherub-like creature with mint green skin, forest green curls, and large eyes that matched the color of her hair. The doll theory was quickly discarded when it moved and giggled loudly at the woman in front of her. It was a baby. Changeling froze where he stood.

"No..."

The woman looked up, and everyone was surprised when they saw an older version of Raven. The woman's eyes widened.

"I guess that means she's not dead, then." Speedy commented.

"Gar..." she said, and Changeling looked pained. He took a few steps forward, and when he did speak, it was in a language Beast Boy had never heard before.

"Jini athmovezar qoyi ven athmovezar fini fich yera anhoon—"

Across the country, Raven let out a gasp. The girls were surprised by her unusual display of emotion.

"What's going on?" Bumblebee asked.

Cyborg nudged Beast Boy. "What are you saying?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

"He's speaking Azarathian." Raven said thoughtlessly. How did Changeling know her home language? When did she get to trust Beast Boy enough to teach him? More importantly, why was he saying dark magic had taken her from him? She wasn't sure what she should be more disturbed by: the dark magic, it 'taking' her, or it taking her from Beast Boy.

"What's he saying?!" Jinx demanded. Raven shook her head, and before she realized what was happening, Starfire yanked her mouth to hers. Her eyes went wide, and she shoved the alien away.

"He said 'this is dark magic, like the magic that took you away from me.'" Initially, Starfire's eyes gleamed with mischief, but the more she said, the more the light in her eyes dimmed, and her smile faded. Perhaps she shouldn't have forced Raven to transfer knowledge. It sounded like they were about to hear something very personal and private, and now the girls would be expecting her to translate. Changeling continued to speak.

"fini fich yera anhoon hatif…"

"Took you from me before I could even..." Starfire dutifully translated, looking away from the seething empath next to her.

"What am I saying?! What's going on?!" Beast Boy demanded. "Why do I look like someone died?!"

"Just a sec, man." Cyborg was fiddling with the controls in his forearm and mumbling. "Sounds a bit like Sanskrit, kid Gaelic, tweak this a little, and..." A rapid translation of Changeling's words came from the speaker at Cyborg's wrist.

"Dark magic? Took her away? From me?" Beast Boy asked, confused. Irrationally, Raven was annoyed at him for practically echoing her thoughts. That reminded her of her anger at Starfire, and she glared at the alien again. She had the good sense to look ashamed of herself.

"I don't think you need to translate, Star." Bumblebee said tactfully. "Sparky's got us covered."

Raven glared at her and glared at Cyborg as well. Changeling spoke again, this time a small, bitter smile on his face.

"Maybe I'm dead, and I just don't know it yet. Maybe I am with you in the Night Lands." Cyborg's gerryrigged translator supplied.

"Wait a second, does this mean she _is _dead?!" Speedy asked. Despite his usual "cool" demeanor, he looked disconcerted at the prospect, as did some of the other boys.

Night Lands?! She'd actually _told _Beast Boy about where her people believed they went when they died?! What was happening?! Raven wondered. She watched as her older self smiled slightly before replying in the same language.

Robin noticed that when Raven spoke the strange language, she spoke more quickly, and her voice took on a slightly higher pitch, while losing its raspy quality.

"Guys, I think that might be Raven's native language."

"Or maybe I refused to enter the Night Lands without you," Cyborg translated. "Maybe I told the Great Mother to go fuck herself and came back here to wait for you."

"Or maybe not." Robin amended, raising a brow at the reply. Meanwhile, Raven was actually blushing. Cyborg's cheap translator was _unfairly _accurate. In the portal, Changeling let out a soft, but genuine, laugh.

"That sounds like something you would do." he replied, and Raven shrugged, looking down at the baby in front of her.

"She wouldn't have been the first celestial being I've said something like that to."

"No." Changeling agreed. He took another few steps forward and sat across from Raven. He looked pointedly at the baby before locking eyes with Raven, a questioning expression on his face. Raven raised an eyebrow at him.

"No. I found this green infant. The fact that she acts just like you and I was pregnant when..." She trailed off, and both of them looked pained for a second, but she quickly finished. "when we last saw each other is a complete coincidence."

"No fucking way." young Beast Boy breathed. He had a baby?! With Raven?! Part of him wanted to rebel at the idea of having a child with the prickly sorceress, but the thought of just _having _a child overwhelmed that. He'd wanted to have a family of his own someday, but he had given up the idea a long time ago. He thought his DNA was too unstable.

Raven just stared, goggle-eyed, at the screen. She'd always been told she'd be barren. "Cursed" womb aside, basic biology told her that as a hybrid species, no one's DNA would complement hers. She wasn't sure how she felt about Beast Boy's being able to.

The rest of the titans in both rooms just looked back and forth between the portal and their friends, varying expressions of shock on their faces.

"Ha ha." Changeling replied sarcastically. He looked down at the baby again, a tender smile on his face. "What's her name?"

Raven smiled slightly as well. "Angela Marie Logan."

"My little Angel," Changeling grinned at the little girl. "Because I know how much mama loves irony."

Raven, both of them, huffed at the comment, but didn't say anything.

Carefully, as though he was afraid she would disappear, Changeling held out a finger towards the baby, and let out a choked laugh when she gripped it. He looked up at Raven.

"I can feel her. She's real." His voice had taken on a ragged quality that made of most of the men, especially Beast Boy, uncomfortable, and made most of the women's heart's break. Starfire was already sniffling. The poor man sounded like he was going to break down any second.

Changeling blinked rapidly and then turned his attention back to the baby. He trailed a finger from his free hand down her petal soft cheek, under her chin, and back up. He tapped her nose lightly, making her giggle. He wrapped one of her curls around a finger before letting it go to trail his finger down her chubby arms, over her belly, and down her legs. He gripped one of her toes and gave it a good shake, making her laugh again. All the while, he stared at her like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"She's real." he breathed again. He looked up at Raven and reached for her, but before he touched her, she backed away. He pulled back, hurt evident in his expression.

"If you touch me, I will crumble." she said, without looking at him.

Changeling took her hand anyway. He moved his thumb in circles over the back of her hand. "Did you know that when I lost you, I didn't do all the 'usual' stuff people do when they lose someone they love." He gave her hand a squeeze and let it go before moving his hand up her arm.

"I didn't drink, or do drugs, or sleep around. Instead, I would just sleep. I'd go to bed early, and I'd sleep late, and if I couldn't sleep, I'd wear myself out until I could. I was able to forget you were gone when I was sleeping, and the hours didn't seem to drag by like when I was awake. Whenever I finally woke up, I'd feel this weird pride that I'd managed to survive another ten, twelve, fourteen hours without you." His hand stopped at her shoulder, and he gave it a squeeze.

"The problem with that though, was that when I'd wake up and realize you weren't laying there next to me, I'd feel my heart collapse in on itself all over again." He caught her chin with his thumb and forefinger and gently turned her head to face him. He leaned forward, so his forehead was pressed to hers.

"Please let me have this." he finished in a whisper.

At that, Starfire let out a loud sob, her heart breaking for her friends, even if they were just older doppelgangers.

She was far from being the only one affected. Raven was the only one in the Titans East tower who wasn't a bit teary eyed, but she was sure that was only because of years of meditative suppression. Inside though, she felt hollow, like she had lost something she didn't even know she'd needed or even had.

Across the country, the boys were noticeably affected as well. Tears flowed silently down Jericho's cheeks, and even Kid Flash and Speedy, the ones most likely to mock Beast Boy for showing the kind of emotion his older self was, looked grim. Beast Boy himself had, deep down, viewed this vision as something like a movie when it started. It wasn't real. However, his older self's description of his grief was beyond accurate. He had done something similar when Terra died, napping often, so he could forget for a while. It made him realize, quite painfully, that this _was _him, and he would be experiencing even more pain and loss.

In the portal, older Raven gripped the wrist of the hand holding her chin and leaned into Changeling. Just when it looked like their lips were about to connect, the baby interrupted with one word.

"Tay?" she asked before proceeding to babble the seemingly nonsensical syllable over and over again, bouncing for emphasis. Raven closed her eyes tightly, and Changeling looked confused.

"What's she saying?"

Raven opened her eyes.

"I think," she said in English. "that she's asking if you'll stay."

Changeling's jaw tensed, but he took a deep breath and relaxed.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Am I dead, Rae?"

"I don't think so. This," She pulled back from Changeling a little to look around the room. "isn't death. This isn't where we were." She gestured between herself and Angela.

Changeling cupped the back of her neck and pulled her back to him. "What is it, then? Where am I?"

"It feels like a dream," Raven answered in Azarathian. "Your dream, my dream… I don't know. All I know is that if this is a dream, I'll kill whoever tries to wake me."

Once again, Changeling angled his head to try and kiss Raven, but before he could, he heard a sound.

"Changeling!" It was faint, but it sounded like Nightwing.

"Come on, man! We need you!" That one was louder and sounded like Cyborg.

"Wake up!" Starfire's shriek sounded like she was in the room with them, causing Changeling and Raven to break apart in surprise.

"It's your dream then." Raven said. Her face had taken on the usual deadpan expression it had sported in life. Changeling just stared at her like the world was falling apart. She pulled her daughter into her lap and angled her head towards the doors. "They need you."

Changeling's expression went from heartbroken to grimly determined in an instant. Before Raven could stop him, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her mouth to his, kissing her hard. She struggled for a second before shoving one hand through his hair and kissing back with a ferocity that surprised their audience, especially Raven. They broke apart, breathing hard, and when Changeling spoke again, it was in English.

"I am coming back to you," he swore. "I promised you I wasn't letting you go, and I meant it." Raven nodded quickly before gently pushing him away.

"They still need you."

"_You_ need me."

"Yeah, but I can wait. Our friends can't. Go."

The changeling gave her another quick kiss before standing up. "I'll find you again."

"Don't sleep your life away." Raven ordered as Changeling turned away from her.

"No promises." he called over his shoulder. He made it to the double doors, and when they slid open, the baby started to cry. Everyone in both rooms cringed at the broken expression that flitted across Changeling's face, but he squared his shoulders and kept walking. When he made it to the second set of doors, they slid open, and suddenly, everyone was watching the battle between the older Titans and Mumbo.

Starfire was trying to break free of several layers of super strong magic scarves, Robin, or Nightwing as he was eventually going to be called, was stuck in a box about to be sawed in half, and Cyborg's parts had been flipped and switched by a vanishing cabinet until he looked like a futuristic Picasso painting. Mumbo himself was standing on several bags of cash, laughing maniacally. At the sight of him, Changeling bared his teeth, and with a roar, he transformed into the Beast. He charged at the magician, knocking him off his money before he'd even had time to draw his wand. The Sasquatch-like creature yanked him up by the lapels and slammed him hard against the side of a brick building.

Beast Boy winced at the action and felt shame at Changeling's brutality, at _his _brutality.

Mumbo weakly put up his wand, but before he could say anything, the Beast caught it between his razor-sharp teeth and bit it into three pieces. The enchantments on the other titans ended, and they quickly went to Changeling.

"Changeling..." Cyborg said cautiously.

The Beast looked away from his prey to Cyborg.

"It's us." the metal man said, "It's okay. Put the stupid magician down."

The Beast took a deep sniff of the air and let out a growl, but he didn't do anything else. Instead, he began to shrink, until all that remained of the creature was a furious changeling in a torn uniform.

"Where did you send me?!" he demanded, slamming Mumbo into the wall again.

"Changeling!" Nightwing reprimanded.

"Where did you send me?!" Changeling yelled again, ignoring his leader.

"It wasn't supposed to send you anywhere!" Mumbo cried, "It was just a spell to put you in a trance! I swear!"

"Changeling, stop this!" Starfire ordered. Cyborg and Nightwing moved like they were about to stop him.

"I WAS WITH RAVEN!" Changeling bellowed, causing his teammates to freeze. "AND THE BABY! I could see them, touch them, I even..." He trailed off, and a tear finally fell down his face. He turned his attention back to Mumbo, yanking him off the wall, only to slam him into the street. "WHERE ARE MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER?!"

Mumbo curled into a ball and whimpered, and Cyborg grabbed Changeling's shoulder, yanking him away from the villain while Nightwing and Starfire got him ready to hand to the police.

"You need to calm down." he told his friend.

Changeling just looked back at the magician, his breathing rapid.

"Garfield."

The green man looked back at his friend, seeming to see him for the first time. "I was with Raven." he said quietly.

"I know."

"It was real."

"It was just a spell, man."

"He knows where to find them."

"Gar. They're gone," Cyborg said, placing a hand on each of his friend's shoulders. "They're gone, and we took care of who did it, remember? It was just a spell, and Rae wouldn't want you torturing yourself like this, okay? Calm down."

Changeling looked up and took several deep breaths before he finally appeared to calm down. Cyborg took his hands off his friend's shoulders. He gave him what he hoped was a comforting smile.

"Sounds like you've had a hell of a mission."

Changeling closed his eyes. "You have no idea. Let's go home."

With that, the portal to the future closed, leaving most of the occupants of both rooms slack-jawed. None of them had been prepared for that level of emotion or any of the revelations that had come with them.

On separate sides of the country, Raven and Beast Boy, different as they usually were, were having surprisingly similar thoughts. They were getting married some day? Having a baby? Raven was dying? How? Why? Who did it? Would this change the way things were between them now? Neither one was sure how they'd look the other in the eye again.

"Well..." Cyborg said. "That was unexpected."

* * *

Thoughts? I'd appreciate them. Too mushy? To melodramatic? I wanted to explore my inner sadist and rip hearts out, not annoy people with a soap opera? Did I accomplish this? Tell me in the reviews!

Obviously, I don't own _Game of Thrones _either. I would have said it in the first note, but I was kind of worried it would spoil the story.


	2. Chapter 2

Ladies, gentlemen, or whatever noun/pronoun you identify with, I thank you for the first chapter's review. Fourteen may not seem like much to some, but for me, especially since most of them came during the first _day_ after publishing what was supposed to be a _one-shot,_ it is astonishing. The only other work I've had come close to this number of reviews is _Almost. _

After six chapters.

And over a year.

This is basically my most popular work to date, and because of that, I have been inspired. I present to you a nice, fat-ass update. (I'd also like you to know this is the last time I'll put a massive author's note before it.)

Obviously, I do not own _Teen Titans. _They were born and raised by DC Comics and played around with by Cartoon Network.

* * *

_Beast Boy woke slowly, feeling like even his eyelids were reluctant to move. Obviously, moving the rest of his body was not an option. He was far too comfortable in his bed. Once his eyes were open though, and his brain was functioning on a slightly higher level, he realized he felt strange. He shifted his hips, and it felt like his body did it of its own volition. He also noticed that his sheet was rubbing against some pretty private places. Was he wearing pants? He didn't think he was. He could tell that he wasn't wearing a shirt, but he never slept naked. What's going on? He wanted to lift his head, but he couldn't move. He actually consciously ordered his head to move, but he remained still. He felt himself start to panic, at least emotionally, but physically, his body didn't react like he was panicking. His breathing stayed the same. His heartbeat remained calm and slow. His own scent didn't change to reflect his fear. His body, and most of his mind actually, was perfectly calm. Still very concerned, but now very curious, he focused on what was going on in his head. _

_ At any given time, he felt three things_ _in his head. He called them presences, because he couldn't think of a better word. The first and usually dominant part was, well, _him. His _thoughts, _his _feelings, _his_ desires, and _his _memories were what ruled. It was the part of him that refused to eat meat, even though most of his animal forms didn't have a problem with it, and the part that could remember the order and title of every episode of _Clash of the Planets _ever made. He liked to think this part of him was in the center of his brain. Around the large, _HIM _part of his head, he could feel brushes of his animal forms and what they wanted or felt instinctively. It was this part that he tapped into when he morphed. This part of him became more dominant when he was an animal, but it didn't completely take over. At the back his mind was the newest presence, the one he didn't like to think about too much. It was the Beast, and in his head, _he _felt like a strange and... uncomfortable combination of both his and his animal forms' most basic instincts. The Beast whispered temptingly to him, not exactly in real words, but whispered either way, to surrender to his more primal instincts; to hunt and run and kill and fuck. _He_ stayed at the back corners of his mind, a small presence, but there nonetheless. It was the only part of himself that could overtake HIM completely and force that part to the back of his mind, where he was aware but not in control of his actions, much like he was feeling right now._

_ Wishing he could close his eyes but not even in control enough to do that, he focused on what was going on in his head. What he found surprised him. It felt completely normal, or at least it didn't feel like the Beast or any of his animal forms had taken him for a joyride. In fact, both of those parts of him felt strangely content. It even felt like the Beast was... sleeping for lack of a better word, and that only happened when he was let out, or if the team had had a really intense battle, or if he'd jacked off and come so hard that the Beast wasn't sneering about how he wanted an actual girl. All in all, everything felt pretty normal. It felt like the HIM part of his brain was still in charge, but it was blocked for some reason. Suddenly, without any prompting from Beast Boy himself, whoever was in charge spoke. _

_ "On a scale of one to ten, one being getting yelled at and ten being getting our asses kicked, how bad are we gonna get it once we get back to the tower?"_

Who's we? _Beast Boy wondered. _Why are we in trouble?

He _was surprised when he felt something move at his side, but whoever was in charge (he decided to call him Bob) wasn't. He felt someone's head lay on his shoulder beneath his collarbone, and he caught a whiff of a flowery and vaguely familiar scent before he felt a body press against his side. A naked body. A naked, _female _body. _

BOOBS! OH MY GOD, THERE ARE BOOBS! THEY'RE _TOUCHING _ME! I CAN FEEL THEM! _was _his _reaction, but Bob seemed calm. Content, a little smug, and mildly turned on, but calm. _

_ The body next to him threw its—_her, _Beast Boy corrected, still unable to believe he was naked in bed with a naked girl—leg over his hip, and he felt another, really soft and kind of damp, part of her pressing against his hip bone. Beast Boy stopped breathing, or would have if he was in charge, and he felt Bob's arousal go up a notch, but his body remained calm. The girl laid her hand on his chest, stroking slightly, and Beast Boy wanted to shudder at the soft touch. Though his body didn't move, both Bob and the Beast purred at the contact. He felt his arm move, and for once, he agreed completely with the motion. His hand began to stroke the _unbelievably _soft skin of the girl's back and side, and he couldn't help but notice very pronounced curves._

_ Taking stock of the situation, Beast Boy noted that, besides having no control over his own body, this was kind of the best day ever. A soft and curvy naked girl who smelled pretty had her boobs and pussy pressed against him, which was one thing he'd wanted since learning to jack himself off when he was thirteen. He tried to move again, maybe to get a good look at the girl with him, but he stopped when the girl began to speak. _

_ "On a scale of one to ten..."_

Scale of one to ten? _he wondered for a second before he remembered Bob's previous question. _

_ "I'd say eleven." the girl finished. Her voice was raspy, probably from sleep, soft, and kind of low-pitched. The voice also rung a bell, but he was distracted again when Bob made him lift his head. At his side, he could see a head of purple hair lying on his shoulder—purple _hair? _Beast Boy thought incredulously—and skin so pale it was nearly gray pressed against his body. _

No. Fucking. Way. _Beast Boy thought. He only knew one girl with purple hair, grayish skin, and a raspy voice, and she would _never _sleep with him. _

_ Bob made him speak. "What does an eleven mean?"_

_ The girl next to him gave a tiny yawn, and Bob bit back a smile. Beast Boy could feel that Bob found her adorable but knew not to say so. _

_ "It means," the girl said in her increasingly (and uncomfortably) familiar voice, "that Dick will use our contingency plans on us, and he and Kori will take turns kicking our asses."_

Dick? Kori? Who are they? And what does she mean by 'contingency plans'? _Beast Boy wondered. However, Bob seemed to know what she was talking about, and memories that weren't his appeared to him. A guy in a black and blue suit, a guy who looked exactly how Star had described future Robin/Nightwing when she'd gone to the future, appeared in his head, and Bob identified him as "Dick." Another memory, a pretty redhead who was obviously an older Starfire, appeared in his mind. Bob identified her as Kori. _

Future Robin and Star? Dick and Kori? Are those their real names? _Beast Boy wondered, and Bob's knowledge to the affirmative answered those questions. _

_ Lastly, Bob's memories answered his question about 'contingency plans.' A trick he'd learned from Batman and his experience with the Justice League, Robin/Nightwing had developed plans to take each titan, including himself, down if they ever became a problem. The plan against Beast Boy, should he be overtaken by the Beast or something else, was to use a special sedative developed by Cyborg and then incarcerate him if they wanted to temporarily incapacitate him. Contingency Plan B involved a poison that resisted the healing factor that some of his animal forms gave him. He wouldn't survive._

_ The plans against Raven were nearly identical. For temporary incapacitation, there would be another version of Cyborg's special sedative that was resistant to her demonic healing followed by time in the room they'd made for her when Trigon was going to attack. If they needed to use more force, they had a strange looking knife /dagger thing that Bob knew was called Angel-glass. It would overwhelm Raven's healing ability, and it was apparently the only thing any of them knew of that could fatally wound her, short of Trigon himself._

_ Beast Boy was outraged, though if it was more for himself or for Raven, he wasn't sure. Robin would _kill _them?! Their _friends _would kill them?! No, Beast Boy decided. They wouldn't. They were all friends. They'd fight for each other. Whoever was running the show in his body didn't know what the fuck they were talking about. Bob, however, seemed unconcerned about these contingency plans. Beast Boy got the feeling that he had accepted them a long time ago. _

_ Bob made him speak again. "Why would Kori kick our asses?"_

_ The girl lifted her face to look at him, and Beast Boy's suspicions were proven correct. Her face was a bit more angular, like she'd lost the last of her baby fat, so she was obviously older, but it was definitely Raven. It was Raven's naked body pressed against him. Her_ _breasts, her_ pussy_—no, that wasn't a word that went with Raven. It was inappropriate. _Everything _about this was inappropriate. Beast Boy wanted to start screaming, but he didn't know if it was because he was afraid she'd rip out his eyes or of it was just a reaction to the pure craziness of the situation. _

_ His body of course didn't obey the instruction to scream. Instead, he felt his lips quirk into a smile he didn't want to make, and from Bob, he felt a gooey, happy feeling he only remembered feeling when he still liked Terra and saw her doing something cute. Now though, it was stronger. Beast Boy, mentally of course, felt his jaw drop. Bob was in love! Whoever'd highjacked his body was in _love! _With Raven! And apparently using his body to get to know her on a biblical level, if their nakedness was any indication._

_ Raven spoke again, answering Bob's question. _

_ "We left without telling anyone where we were going. We turned off our communicators, so they can't find out where we are. We've been gone since..." Raven's brow furrowed slightly, and Beast Boy felt Bob's gooey feelings intensify. "What day is it?" _

_ His face scrunched up by itself. "Tuesday?" Bob had him guess. Raven shrugged one shoulder and continued to talk. _

_ "We've been gone at least three days, _and_ we cheated Kori out of planning a ridiculous spectacle of a wedding." _Wedding?! _Beast Boy shrieked in his head, but Bob's gooey happiness just intensified again, something he didn't believe possible. "So yes, an eleven on the punishment scale, featuring Kori." Raven finished. _

_ Without consulting him, Beast Boy felt his body moving again. He turned over on his side, stretching out his arm, and Raven took advantage of the position by rolling off her stomach and laying her head on his bicep, treating him to a full-frontal view of her nakedness. _

Oh no, she's hot! _Beast Boy whined, and for some stupid reason, he thought of _Spongebob Squarepants _and Squidward's reaction when he pictured Squilliam Fancyson in his boxers._

_ However, the sight of naked Raven quickly shoved away thoughts of cartoons. She was definitely hot. Her body was slender with a toned stomach and slightly bigger breasts than he'd expected. He supposed he hadn't paid them much attention since she stayed cloaked most of the time. Her hips were also a bit wider than he'd thought, maybe because she was older, and from what he could see, her pubic hair was trimmed. He suddenly wondered what it looked like down there with her legs open, but he quickly directed himself away from that line of thinking. Beast Boy wanted to look away—Raven didn't deserve him perving over her like that, but of course he didn't move. Instead, he felt the Beast growl smugly, and suddenly, Beast Boy was assaulted with a really graphic daydream—_or memory, _Beast Boy practically groaned—of Bob's, detailing _exactly _how Raven looked between her legs (trimmed up top with completely bare folds), complete with her taste, scent, and sounds of surprisingly vocal appreciation._

_ When he shook the vision of eating Raven out, he saw she had a brow raised and a small smirk on her pretty mouth—_Regular, _Beast Boy corrected, half-panicked,_ it's nothing special!_— like she knew exactly what he, or more accurately Bob, had been thinking about. Knowing Raven's weird ability to know exactly how someone was feeling, she probably did, and that freaked Beast Boy out even more. However, rather than hyperventilate like _he _wanted to do, his body once again acted on Bob's orders and moved his other arm, so that his hand was on the soft curve of Raven's hip. It moved up her waist, grazed the side of her breast, and then went back down. He watched Raven's eyes close in enjoyment. His hand completed the circuit again, and then he scooted even closer and laid his hand on her cheek. Once again, his body spoke independently of him. _

_ "Kori knew you didn't want a big wedding if you ever got engaged."_

_ "I think she assumed I'd change my mind once I was _actually _engaged."_

_ Beast Boy felt himself snort. _

_ "My thoughts exactly," Raven replied. "She hasn't figured out that I don't 'do happy.'" She put emphasis on the last two words, so he knew they were in figurative quotes, and then punctuated the statement with a roll of her eyes._

_"You do happy." Beast Boy felt himself say. _

She does? _he wondered. _

_ Raven raised a brow at him, obviously on to whatever bullshit Bob was spouting. Beast Boy wanted to cheer. Raven would fix this!_

_ "I believe you were the first person to tell me that I didn't _do _happy." she said. _

_ Bob made him shrug. "It took me a while to figure it out, but you do happy. It's just a low-key kind of happy, like reading a book or laying here with me." He stroked Raven's cheek with his thumb. _

That crafty bastard, _Beast Boy thought. _

"_Not_ _starring in _Wedding: The Musical."_ Bob finished, and Raven snorted. _

_ "Don't even _joke. _Especially when we get back to the tower. Kori might think it's a good idea."_

_ Beast Boy's body laughed for a minute, and Beast Boy himself couldn't keep back a chuckle when he noticed Raven smile slightly. She'd only smiled at him like once in the four years he'd known her. It was nice to see. _

_ After a few seconds, Bob stopped laughing and moved forward so his, Beast Boy's, forehead touched Raven's. "Raven?" he asked. _

_ Her gaze locked with his. "Yes, Gar?"_

Gar?! _Beast Boy practically squealed. _She knew it was him?!

_"I love you." Bob/Gar made him say. _

_ He saw Raven purse her mouth into a line, like she was trying to keep from smiling, and she looked away, like he'd seen some of the shy girls he'd occasionally flirt with do. Damn it. That was the most adorable thing ever._

_ She looked back up at him, and he saw a softness in her eyes that he wasn't sure he'd ever seen before. The closest he could think of was when she'd comforted him after the Beast incident. _

_ "I love you, too." she said softly._

_ With that, Beast Boy felt his head move forward, and he tried to stop what he knew was coming. This wasn't supposed to happen! This wasn't right! Raven didn't deserve this! They _both_ deserved to do this when it felt right, with someone who felt right, or when neither one of them was under something else's control. He personally preferred to have his first kiss under _all _of the above conditions. _

_ His protests were cut off however when he felt his mouth meet Raven's, and he wasn't sure if it was him or Bob/Gar who groaned at the silken feel of Raven's lips and tongue meeting and moving with his own. It felt like he was feeling the kiss _everywhere. _That, or he suddenly didn't feel any other parts of his body because Raven's mouth moving so sweetly against his was the only sensation that mattered. It crossed Beast Boy's mind that this was probably the only time he could describe something as 'sensual' without feeling like a pretentious ass. There really was no other word to describe that kiss. _

_ When they broke apart, Beast Boy was dizzy, and he could feel Bob/Gar's gooey happiness even more intensely than before. Raven looked like she was feeling a toned down version of Bob/Gar's emotions. Her face was the most relaxed Beast Boy had ever seen it, her previous smile just a bit wider, and her eyes still closed. Her eyes opened again, and, in her contentedness, they shone like polished amethyst. She opened her mouth to speak again..._

* * *

Beast Boy jerked awake with a gasp, quickly sitting up. Practically hyperventilating, he looked down at himself and then around him. He wasn't naked. He was wearing a pair of boxers. He was alone in his bed. More importantly, he could move on his own. He was the one at the wheel, so to speak. He closed his eyes and focused on what was happening in his head. He felt the HIM part of himself in the center. He could call up his own memories, and when he wanted to rub his face, he could and did do it. Around the HIM part of his brain, he felt his animal forms waiting for one of them to be called when he needed them. At the very back corners of his mind, he felt the Beast lurking as usual. He felt confusion coming from the most animalistic part of himself, but that emotion he could understand.

Still breathing kind of rapidly, but calmer now, Beast Boy turned so he was sitting on the bed with his feet on the floor. He put his head in his hands and gave his hair a tug, just to make sure he was really awake. It hurt, so he was pretty sure he was up. He worked purposefully on slowing his breathing, and when he was calmer, he put his elbows on his knees, and with his chin in his hands, he looked up at the ceiling.

This was the third dream he'd had like that in as many nights. Ever since Herald had shown them the future. The first one had been when the guys were still over. The content itself hadn't been anything special. He'd been playing videogames, and suddenly he realized his head was laying in Raven's lap. However, rather than push him off like he would have expected her to, she let him stay. She even began to stroke his hair after a while, setting off tingles that seemed to travel from his head all the way down back to the base of his spine. What made the dream worth remembering was that it had been like the one he'd just had. It felt like he was experiencing the event in real time, but he hadn't been in control of his own body. He'd also still felt the tingling sensation when he woke up. He absentmindedly touched his lips.

The second one happened the night after the girls came home. He'd spent the entire day trying to get Raven's attention, but she was obviously avoiding him, much to his frustration. He honestly didn't know what he'd expected Raven to do about what he'd seen in either the vision or the dream; he'd just wanted her to make him feel better. She was good at that when she wasn't insulting him, the Beast incident being a prime example. However, she'd never left her room, and he'd gone to bed disappointed. That night, he had another dream starring her. In this one, a Halloween party was going on. The titans from both teams, along with many of the honorary titans, were dressed as monsters and other characters and partying in the tower. He remembered walking by the doors to the ops center, only for them to open and reveal Raven dressed in a _naughty nurse _costume of all things. He'd teased her, helped her make her tea (when did he ever do that?), and then their conversation was interrupted by Starfire excitedly mauling Robin in midair over the crowd before announcing over Cyborg's microphone that she and Robin had finally started dating. It was then he learned that Raven wore the stupid costume because of a bet she made with Robin to ask out Star. It had been just like the first dream. He hadn't been in control of himself. Also, the weird thing about this dream (or at least the weirdest thing he wanted to think about right now) was that Robin and Star were already dating.

The vision and the first dream had made him wonder if they were something to be taken seriously. The second, inaccurate one had him ready to dismiss all of them as bullshit, and then he went and had the most recent dream. Like the first two, it had felt like he wasn't in control of his body; someone else had the reins. It had also been _unbelievably _vivid. He'd never had _any _dreams like this before. He'd never had ones where he felt completely helpless, and he'd never had ones that felt like he was living in another world. It honestly felt like he was going through the motions of someone else's memories. It was disturbing, and Beast Boy really didn't think this could go on. It was getting so he was worried about going to sleep. He needed to fix it, but he didn't know how. Letting out a sigh, he climbed out of bed and started to dress.

Once he was ready for the day, he made his way to the ops center, where he was surprised to find Cyborg in the kitchenette dressed in a complete hotdog vendor's outfit.

"WHO WANTS CORNDOGS?!" the metal man bellowed. "I'm even making some with your nasty tofu." he practically sang.

"Really dude? Corn dogs for breakfast?" Beast Boy asked, ignoring the slight against his tofu for now.

Cyborg raised a metal brow. "It's one thirty in the afternoon, B."

Beast Boy's forehead furrowed in confusion. That was the latest he'd slept since he was about fourteen. He shrugged slightly. New personal best, he supposed. He looked in the living room and was surprised again at the sight of Raven meditating near the window. As far as he knew, this was the first time she'd left her room since her sleepover at Titans East tower. He thought about going up to her and asking her to play therapist for what was going on in his head, or to at least give him a spell or something to keep the dreams away, but he decided against it. He'd probably send her back to her room again, so it was probably better if he waited for...something. He walked into the living room and flopped on the couch before picking up the remote and turning on the TV. He idly flipped through the channels, but he didn't find anything that caught his attention for long. He settled on that _Supernatural _show that was somewhere in the middle of its second season, but he didn't get too stuck on it. Instead, he looked around the room, first at Cyborg, who was humming slightly as he deep-fried pieces of whatever animal was in corn dogs, and then at Raven, who was hovering cross-legged in the corner where the bay windows met the wall.

Light surrounded her; light directly from the sun and light from the sun's sparkling reflection on the bay streamed through the window and seemed to wash over her. It made her skin look healthier, more white now than ashen gray, and it made her hair gleam like, well, amethysts. He idly thought about what other things were purple and shiny and then wondered why he cared. It wasn't like he was planning to start spouting poetry or anything. Nope. He continued to look at her and at how the light highlighted and softened the features of her face. For once, she didn't look like she was annoyed.

_Probably because I'm not talking to her, _Beast Boy joked with himself. Realizing that he'd spent quite a bit of time staring at her, he turned his attention back to _Supernatural, _but after a few minutes, he got bored and started looking around again. This time, he didn't even bother focusing on Cyborg. He just looked at Raven again. She was still in the corner, still bathed in light like a freaking angel.

_She's beautiful,_ Beast Boy thought, and he mentally slapped himself. This was Raven! He wasn't supposed to be thinking this way about Raven! He was still loopy from the dream he had. Cuddly, out-of-character—_and naked, _he thought before scolding himself—Raven was stuck in his head. He knew _this _Raven however, would fling him into the bay for perving on her the way he was now, and that was how it should be. He turned his attention back to the television.

He watched the Winchester boys' daddy issues for a few seconds and then snuck another peek at Raven. At first glance, she looked peaceful, but the longer he looked, the more he noticed something was a bit off. Her brow was furrowed a little, like she was confused or looking for something and couldn't find it, and her mouth was set in either annoyance or determination. He wondered what was bothering her, and the first thing that popped into his head was Herald's vision.

He'd forgotten about it by the time the vision was over, but when he tried to talk to Raven about what he'd seen, she told him that the girls had patched into the Titans network to see what they were doing. She knew what he was talking about, and she coolly told him that there was no point in worrying about it before closing her door in his face. However, despite her claims that it was pointless to worry about the future Herald had shown them, Beast Boy thought it had to bother her.

She'd spent years with a prophecy hanging over her head, talking about her death and what it would bring. Then she found her way around it and beat her dad in the most awesome display of power Beast Boy had ever seen. She'd looked like an angel then as well, he remembered, but more like an avenging angel than the light washed one floating in the living room. Shaking his head to clear those kinds of thoughts, he continued his original train of thought. She deserved some peace, in his opinion, after what she'd done for everyone, or as much as she could get in their line of work. Instead, she was getting _another _prophecy, or something kind of like it, predicting her death. And a baby's. As much as Raven liked to act like nothing affected her, he knew the thought of a dead child had to be tearing her up inside.

It bothered him too when he really thought about it. He was only seventeen. The thought of having a baby should, and kind of did, terrify him. He was _way_ too young for that kind of thing. However, in between worrying about his friend dying and possibly developing a crush on said friend, because of these stupid dreams, he thought about the baby. "My Little Angel," his older self had called her. Angela Marie Logan. Marie had been his mother's name. Had older Raven known that? Had Angela been _her _mother's name?

That question got him to wondering a bit about Raven's family, realizing that all he'd ever really thought about it was that her father was the multidimensional demon Trigon, and her mother had been... just some human woman. He'd almost felt ashamed that he'd never thought more about this 's mother was a person who'd had a life and probably a family before her life was turned upside down by Trigon. Was she even alive? He doubted it, considering who baby-daddy was, but he also knew anything was possible. Had she been named Angela? he wondered again. Had she been the source of Little Angel's curls?

Even though he'd only seen the baby for a minute, her image was burned into his brain. In spite of the green coloring she'd gotten from him, she still managed to look almost _exactly _like Raven, complete with her pointy chin and small nose, her unbalanced mouth with its thin lower lip and thick upper lip, and her large, surprisingly intense eyes. She'd been beautiful, probably the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Little Angel had been gorgeous and happy and _his. _His daughter, something he'd never imagined he'd have, was proof that he could have a family of his own, and yet he was going to lose her. The thought of something so small and bright and innocent being snuffed out made his stomach roll. The thought of losing her and Raven both terrified and infuriated him. He didn't want either of them hurt, even one of them didn't exist yet. _And might not ever, _a voice in his head that sounded weirdly like Raven pointed out. _It was just a vision. It might not come true. _

Just like that, his fear and anger cooled. _This _kind of thing was why he was having problems. He would think about the future he'd seen and get worked up only to realize it wasn't happening, and there was nothing he could do about it at this point. Then another part of him would rear up and ask 'but what if I could?' Usually, this happened after he had one of his vivid dreams, and then the vicious cycle would start all over again. Why was this all so complicated? He let out his breath in a long exhale. Maybe he should just tell Raven he knew what she looked like naked, and she'd put him out of his misery.

"Beast Boy." Raven's voice had taken that growling quality that Beast Boy _knew _meant she was pissed.

_NO, I WAS JUST KIDDING I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!_, Beast Boy panicked. Had she somehow known what he was thinking?!

"Stop staring at me." Raven ordered. Beast Boy sighed in relief before answering her.

"What? I'm not staring." He let out a half-hearted laugh. She was meditating with her eyes shut. How had she known he was looking at her?

"Yes. You were."

"How do you even know that if you've had your eyes shut the whole time?" Beast Boy challenged.

"I know everything." Raven deadpanned. Still, she didn't open her eyes. "Stop staring."

"I wasn't staring!"

"Then is there suddenly a poster advertising the latest stupid videogame on the wall behind me? That's the only thing I'm aware of that would draw your attention back here."

Beast Boy scrambled to come up with something else he could have been looking at, but Raven had picked a particularly boring spot to meditate. The wall behind her was completely bare, as gray and dull as he'd once thought Raven herself to be. The floor and ceiling were also boring. There was the same red carpet that had been there for the last four years and the same gray metal ceiling. There was the window...

"I was just looking out the window!" he said quickly, proud of himself for coming up with something. He added to his excuse. "It looks really nice outside. The sun is making the bay look really shiny. The view is great."

"You haven't been interested in the view since we moved in. There is also an entire wall of windows focused on the city and bay. You have no reason to look out the window at the _exact _spot where I happen to be meditating. Try again."

"Uh..." Beast Boy tried to think of something, but Raven opened her eyes and held up a hand to stop him.

"Never mind. Just quit staring at me."

"'Kay." he muttered, sinking into the couch again. He stubbornly refused to let himself look at Raven. He focused his attention on the TV again and actually found himself interested in the goings on of the Winchester brothers. It was better than looking at Raven. Or thinking about her. Or about the stupid vision.

He mentally slapped himself and looked back at the TV, determined to be interested in what was happening on that.

* * *

"Corn dogs are done!" Cyborg exclaimed cheerfully. Wearing an exaggerated hotdog vendor's uniform, complete with an insulated metal box to keep the corn dogs hot, he bounded into the living room where Beast Boy was vegging out in front of the TV and Raven continued to meditate. He went to BB first, giving him a nudge.

"I even made some with your tofu." He opened his vendor's box and pulled out a corn dog he thought might have had tofu in it. Or plastic. It really was hard to tell the difference. Either way, he offered it to Beast Boy.

His green friend didn't even look at him. Instead, his eyes remained glued to the TV, though Cyborg was sure he wasn't even focusing on what was happening on the screen. He knew Beast Boy didn't even like _Supernatural. _The bionic man swallowed his concerned sigh and turned his attention to Raven.

"Raven..." he crooned. "You _love _corn dogs, doncha?"

"No." she replied flatly. She didn't open her eyes. Cyborg opened his mouth to do some more coaxing, but just then he caught a glimpse of the ops center doors opening. At the sight of red hair in his peripheral vision, he quickly made his way to the doors, standing between Starfire and the other titans.

"Hey, Star!" He shoved the box of corn dogs at her. "Want a corn dog? I got every kind you can think of, with hotdogs, brats, liverwurst, link sausage, cornmeal, pancake batter, beer batter... basically everything, and they are all delicious. Plus," He waggled his metal eyebrows at her. "I got all the mustard you could possibly want to eat with them right in the kitchen!"

The pretty alien's face lit up at the mention of her favorite beverage. "Oh friend, that sounds most delightful! But please, would it be possible for the 'corn dog' to be made with pickles?"

Cyborg frowned thoughtfully. Honestly, the thought of making a corn dog with a pickle wasn't pleasing to his own palate, but he'd already made corn dogs with _tofu_, of all things, so if Star wanted pickles...

"Alright," he shrugged. "It's about time I found a reason to deep-fry a pickle anyway."

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, and Cyborg grinned. There was nothing better than a happy Starfire, in his opinion.

"Come on, girl!" He picked Starfire up and tossed her over his shoulder, causing her to erupt into a fit of shrieking giggles. He made it a few steps toward the kitchen, and then his cybernetic ear picked up the hitch in Star's breath.

_Oh no, _he thought. He turned his head to look at her and saw that her lower lip was already poking out. He followed her gaze into the living room and saw she was looking back and forth between Beast Boy and Raven. Her breath hitched again.

_Damn it all to hell, _he swore and put Starfire down in front of him. He moved subtly so her view of their friends was obstructed by his body. Why hadn't he moved into the kitchen faster so she hadn't seen them at all?

"Come on, Star!" His tone was still cheery. "Pickle corn dogs.."

Starfire let out another sob, and tears began to pool her in large green eyes.

"No! No, please don't do that!" Cyborg begged, finally letting a little bit of his panic show. _Damn, damn, damn!_

It was then Beast Boy decided to come out of whatever stupor he'd been in. _Great timing, Grass Stain._

"What's going on?" Beast Boy asked.

"Nothing! Just..." Cyborg was grasping at straws. "She's overjoyed at the prospect of corn dogs! Like you should be since I put all that time and effort into making tofu ones for you, which, by the way, is just _wrong _in a corn dog"

"She doesn't _look _happy," Beast Boy stood up, looking concerned. "Star, you okay?"

Starfire just sniffled, and tears began to fall.

Just then, the ops center doors opened, and Robin came in, obviously fresh from his afternoon workout. With a whine, Starfire flew to him and hugged him tight, burying her face in his shoulder. With a concerned look, Robin wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and gave her a squeeze before looking at the other titans. Cyborg gave a minute shrug, which instantly told Robin what had happened. Beast Boy appeared both concerned and confused, and when he made eye contact with Raven, she immediately disappeared in a flash of dark energy.

"I'll go talk to her." Beast Boy said immediately.

"Hold it." Robin ordered as the changeling tried to squeeze past him and Star.

"Why?" Beast Boy asked. "She's obviously having a problem."

Brows furrowed in annoyance, Robin looked pointedly at the sobbing alien wrapped around him.

"Well, you got that covered." Beast Boy replied without missing a beat.

"Tell Raven there's going to be a team meeting. Now."

Even though Cyborg could tell Beast Boy was clearly annoyed, the changeling nodded and left the room, leaving Robin to care for the distressed Starfire. He gave her another squeeze and whispered comforting, nonsensical words to her. Robin looked at Cyborg again. He was at a loss for what to do. After a few seconds of awkward silence, punctuated only by Starfire's quiet sniffles, Cyborg finally spoke again.

"You know what? Corn dogs were a bad idea. I'm feeling night breakfast. Who wants a waffle bar?"

With that, he made his way back to the kitchen, ignoring Robin's eye roll.

* * *

In her room, Raven tried to meditate, and once again, she was failing. She hadn't been able to center herself since before that stupid sleepover three days ago. Her emotions were just too jumbled, and it didn't help that she could feel everyone else in the tower having a similar problem. Robin actually wasn't that bad. Brooding was how he reacted to everything, but between Cyborg's overcompensating and Starfire's crying fits, it was a wonder she hadn't sent them all to another dimension, accidentally or otherwise. And then there was Beast Boy. She didn't even want to know what he was feeling about all this, so she'd done her best to avoid him the past few days, and whenever she did have to be around him, she put up as many shields against his emotions as she could. However, some impressions still managed to get through. He was worried, and it annoyed her that he kept trying to _talk _to her about it. What could she do?

_Provide him with closure? _Knowledge suggested.  
_There is literally nothing that can be done, _Raven answered stubbornly.

_You want to help him though._

_We love him! We love him! We love him! _Happy suddenly chanted, her voice high and reminiscent of a yipping puppy. Raven could just picture the annoying emotion flying loops over her mindscape, and she growled softly at the thought.

_Of course we love him, _Raven snarled at the emotion. _He's a very good friend._

_ We just gonna ignore your little crush? _Brave asked mockingly, and Raven opened her eyes only to narrow them in a glare.

_No, _she thought, closing her eyes again. _We're not._

She'd admitted it during that sleepover, during a game of Fuck, Marry, Kill. She did in fact have a bit of a crush on Beast Boy.

Brave snorted. _A bit. _

_A bit. _Raven insisted. She did have a bit of a crush on Beast Boy. He was handsome, especially now that he'd gotten older. He'd gained muscle tone, and he'd finally managed to grow taller than her. Not much taller than her, but taller nonetheless. She also knew he was brave, confident, and strong. He'd earned a lot of respect from her when he'd managed to lead a team of his own in the final confrontation against the Brotherhood of Evil, especially since none of them had been able to make contact with him; for all he knew, all his teammates were dead, and still he kept on fighting. That took courage. Though she often made dry suggestions to the contrary, she also knew he was intelligent, just in a creative or innovative kind of way, rather than academic. She also admired how he never gave up on people who mattered to him, not even when the person he wasn't giving up on thought he should. Though it annoyed her—_often—_she appreciated the way he always tried to get her to be involved with the team. She doubted she'd be as close to her friends as she was, had it not been for Beast Boy. Even when she'd wanted to give up on herself, he refused to let her go and even tried to be optimistic. That was what attracted Raven to him the most.

However, her "crush" did not leave her blind to his flaws or hers, and she knew a relationship between them would never work. His jokes made her want to throw him out a window, his leadership instincts only kicked in during the direst of straits, his idea of a good time was a brain-rotting marathon of stupid television reruns or spending the day in a packed arcade, and he was constantly trying to "convert" people to vegetarianism. On her part, while she enjoyed her frequent meditation, exhaustive reading habits, and shut-in nature, she knew Beast Boy would get bored very quickly. She could also admit to being short-tempered, impatient, stubborn, blunt, and uncompromising when it came to her own affairs. She was also too emotionally reserved for someone like Beast Boy. He was as emotionally loud and vivid as eighties pop art, and he needed someone with a similar temperament. She knew she was a passionless person.

_Are you? _a voice in her head teased. _Are you really?_

Suddenly, the image of the kiss her older self had shared with "Changeling" flashed through her mind, causing her eyes to pop open again. The...voraciousness she'd exhibited had shocked her. However...

"I was dead," she said out loud. "Keeping my emotions in check was no longer an issue."

_It's alright to be curious, you know, _Knowledge said reassuringly. _You're a human female with hormones and sexual desire just like anyone else. _

_ I'm _not _curious. _

_ I am the _source _of curiosity. Yes you are._

_ He is ours. _Rage finally spoke on behalf of her more base instincts. _The future shows it._

_ The future also showed Trigon destroying us, _Raven shot back. _Prophecies like that mean nothing. _

_ Desire does though, _the usually tacit Love piped up. _Why not enjoy it, Raven?_

_ You know why. _

_ I also know you have far more control when you let me out. _

_ That was because of spells. Dark spells that I _won't _be using again._

_ Control and ability affect spells, not the other way around, _Knowledge broke in. _You believed yourself in love with Malchior, and you had more control of yourself as a result. _

_ Where is the logic in that? _Raven wondered. _Love _creates _other, messier, emotions. It's dangerous. _

_ Love overpowers Rage. Something to that effect is a theme in many of the books in your memory. _

_ 'Don't believe everything you read' is also a commonly quoted platitude. _

_ Then believe results. _Love spoke again, an unusual, steely quality present in her usually dreamy tone. _When you loved Malchior—_

_ I did _not _love him. _

_ When you _thought _you loved him, you were as controlled as you've ever been. _

_ Enough! _Raven finally demanded. _My acting on my feelings for Beast Boy isn't the issue right now. The issue is that stupid vision and how it's making everyone in the tower act like idiots. _

Timid whimpered._ It was so sad though. That poor baby. _

Raven squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. That was probably the worst part of the vision. Her own death hadn't bothered her too much, other than it clearly distressing her friends...

_ And your hubby, _Happy added, trying to lighten up the situation.

Raven growled again, and she shut up.

Her own death hadn't bothered her, but she was disgusted with herself for taking a child with her. Rationally, she knew her feelings were ridiculous. It was unlikely her future self would have done something dangerous knowing she was pregnant, but she couldn't help but blame herself. She'd had a child. As terrifying as the prospect was, she'd had a child of her own, and she'd lost her. Obviously, it would have been her fault. If she could dream, she was certain she'd be having nightmares about losing that baby.

Just the thought of the child gave her feelings of regret, sadness, and disgust in herself. She also felt wonder at the thought of having a child when it was supposed to be impossible, and of course, it made her think of Beast Boy. She hadn't gotten a long look at the baby, but she was sure her image had been seared into her mind forever. She was so much like her teammate, in more than just coloring. She had Beast Boy's spirit. It gleamed in her large eyes and made itself obvious in her wide smile and frequent laugh. The little girl had literallybounced with happiness. She'd never thought about children of her own, having always believed she'd be dead by sixteen and incompatible DNA, besides. She was honestly glad that this one was a happy child. As disconcerting as it was to have a child so different from herself, she was happy she apparently didn't have to bear the same burden she'd had to as a child.

_You do realize the child doesn't exist yet right? That she might not _ever _exist?_

Raven opened her eyes and sighed. And there was the crux of the problem. For _everyone. _They were all getting worked up over something that might not ever happen, and yet it had seemed so real, it was impossible to react any other way. Whenever she tried to ignore it, she'd see a green baby in the mirror out of the corner of her eye or the kiss "Changeling" had given her older self when she closed her eyes.

_Once again, it's okay to be curious. You get aroused just like everyone else. _Knowledge tentatively spoke up. Before Raven could reply, her thoughts were interrupted by a very familiar voice.

"Come on, Rae. I know you're in there." Beast Boy was saying as he pounded on her door. It seemed like he'd been at it a while, and she'd been too preoccupied to hear him or even pick up his emotions. Once again, she could feel his familiar combination of trepidation and determination. He wanted to _talk _to her.

Annoyed, Raven climbed out of bed and stalked the length of the room to her door. Wishing she had a hinged door she could fling open dramatically, she pressed the button to slide open the door.

"What?" she demanded when the door was completely open.

Beast Boy stood before her, fist still in the air and a semi-terrified expression on his face. His reply was eloquent.

"Uh..."

Raven narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth to say something scathing, but she stopped when Beast Boy's nostrils suddenly flared, and his eyes flashed. Just like that, his posture changed, and he stood straighter, muscles tense. His breathing also sped up slightly. He took an especially deep breath through his nose and let it out in a low groan.

Raven stepped back a little, concerned about this unusual reaction. "Are you alright, Beast Boy?"

He shook his head and cleared his throat with a loud cough. "Yeah. I'm fine. Uh, Robin says there's team meeting."

"Perfect." Raven grumbled. She stepped out of her room and shut the door before beginning to make her way to the ops center. To her annoyance, even though she admitted it was unwarranted, Beast Boy followed.

"Raven?" he asked.

She pretended not to hear him.

"Raven?" he repeated.

"What?" she huffed.

"Are _you _okay?" he asked.

Raven stopped, puzzled. That wasn't been what she'd expected at all. Beast Boy stopped at her side and looked at her, his expression concerned.

"Rae?"

"I'm fine," she said more quickly than she meant to. "Don't call me Rae."

At this, Beast Boy grinned, resulting in sighs and giggles from Love and Happy's respective domains. "That sounds like the _Raven _I know. You seemed kinda... I don't know, _off_ the last few days."

"I'm fine." Raven repeated in a gentler tone. She started walking again. She was mildly touched at his concern. She thought he'd only wanted to assuage _his _worries.

Beast Boy kept pace with her. "Can we talk? Please?"

_There _it was. She looked at him, feeling momentary surprise at how tall he was up close. "I told you before there's nothing to talk about, Beast Boy. There's no way of knowing if the vision Herald showed us is coming true."

"I'm still kind of worried, and I don't think I can talk about this with the others."

Raven raised an eyebrow at him. "What about Cyborg? Isn't he your BFF or whatever the male equivalent is?"

Beast Boy let out an amused huff at her unusual use of slang. "Yeah, we're buds, but every time I bring it up, he tries to distract me with videogames or force feed me corn dogs."

"You tortured soul."

Beast Boy chuckled again, and Raven _almost _smiled. Instead, she rolled her eyes.

"What about Robin or Starfire?"

"Robin'll interrogate me, and Starfire? Really?"

"Fair enough," Raven admitted, thinking of Starfire's recent crying jags. "Why me though? I'm not good at this sort of thing."

"Wrong!" Beast Boy exclaimed, _almost _making her jump. He nudged her with his shoulder and ignored her scowl. "You're great at playing therapist as long as you're not trying to tear my self-esteem to shreds."

Raven frowned slightly. Was that really what he thought of her?

"I do _not _try to tear your self-esteem to shreds. You just act like an idiot sometimes."

_That'll show 'im, Rae-Rae. _Rude mocked her. _Teach him to say you're bad for his self-esteem._

Beast Boy took it in stride though. "Only sometimes?" he teased. "Careful, Raven. People might start to think you like me."

Ignoring the suspicion that he just might be flirting with her, Raven narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't push it."

"Were we having a moment?" He was trying to look solemn, but the mischievous glint in his eye gave him away.

Raven rolled her eyes again. "Not anymore."

Just then, they made it to the ops center doors. Without another word to Beast Boy, Raven opened them and went inside. She took her usual place on the couch between Starfire and the armrest.

At the sight of her, the alien wilted slightly, like she was about to cry again.

Raven help up a hand. "Don't start."

At this, Starfire gave her a watery smile and nodded.

* * *

Even though they hadn't _exactly _talked about what was bothering him, Beast Boy felt better after his conversation with Raven. It seemed like things were almost normal between them again. He'd even been able to tease her a little without her disappearing on him. By the time they'd gotten to the ops center, he'd felt better than he had in days.

He was slightly disappointed with the spot Raven had picked on the couch, but he didn't dwell on it too long; he was in far too good a mood to think of weird dream feelings. Instead, he took his usual place on the other side of the couch and waited for Robin to say what he wanted to say. Their leader was standing in front of the television, seemingly waiting for something and not looking happy about it. Just when Beast Boy was about to ask what the hold up was, his question was answered when Cyborg came out of the kitchen pushing what looked like a wheeled, tricked-out version of his corn dog vending box. However, instead of corn dogs, he appeared to be hauling... waffles? One plate, piled high with waffles covered in blueberry preserves and whipped cream sat on top of the cart.

The metal man stopped his cart at the edge of the couch on Raven's side. "I got waffles, ya'll!" he called cheerfully before his face suddenly took on an expression that was almost feral. "And you're gonna eat 'em."

Beast Boy swallowed hard. _Okay, _he thought. _Waffle time. _

Raven and Starfire didn't seem as intimidated as he felt though. In fact, when Cyborg put the first plate of waffles in Raven's hands, she actually opened her mouth to protest.

"I haven't seen you eat since before that damn slumber party," Cyborg spoke before she could. "Eat the waffles or I'm declaring you unfit for missions."

_Damn, _Beast Boy thought. _Cy means business. _

"You can't do that!" Raven snapped.

"Team medic's prerogative," Cyborg replied smugly. "Here's a fork."

She sullenly took the fork and dug into the waffles.

Cyborg moved his cart in front of Starfire. "Peppermint and salami waffles topped in mustard for my favorite alien."

Starfire opened her mouth as well, and Cyborg simply shoved a forkful of her customized waffles into it. She narrowed her eyes at him but took the plate and continued to eat. Cyborg stopped his cart in front of Beast Boy and removed a third plate of waffles from it. Beast Boy took the plate and a fork without protest.

"Vegan bullshit topped with hippie tears for you." Cyborg announced. Beast Boy couldn't resist.

"Hippie tears are a product of an animal's suffering." he replied with a straight face.

Cyborg slapped him in the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"Everyone fed now?" Robin asked, clearly exasperated.

"Not quite." Cyborg took a fourth plate of waffles from the cart and put it on the coffee table in front of Robin. "Sugar-free, fat-free, gluten-free, lactose-free, protein-boosted chocolate chip waffles with enriched syrup. May God have mercy on your soul for making me make these."

"I didn't _make _you do any—"

"_Eat _'em_,_" Cy ordered stubbornly. He parked the cart on the other side of the couch and took a fifth plate out of it, piled higher than all the others combined. "Or I'll declare _you _unfit for duty."

"I'm the leader, Cyborg." Robin said warningly.

Mouths stuffed with waffles, the other three titans looked back and forth between the two alpha males, wondering what was going to happen next.

"As team medic and second-in-command, I can take you off duty for health reasons if a majority of the team agrees with me. All in favor of taking Robin off missions if he doesn't eat his Franken-Waffles?"

Raven's hand shot up first, her eyes narrowed in glare at Robin. Beast Boy thought that look was clearly saying: _if I have to do this, I'm taking you down with me._

Encouraged by Raven's quick reaction, he raised his hand as well.

Looking a little less depressed now, Starfire also raised her hand.

"There you have it." Cy said. He carefully sat down on the couch and then started eating his own waffles.

Giving his teammates a glare Beast Boy called 'The Dark Knight Special,' Robin picked up his plate of waffles with one hand and pulled the coffee table away from the couch with the other. Once that was done, he walked around the table and sat down on it across from the rest of the Titans. After taking a bite of his waffles, he looked to be in a slightly better mood. He spoke after his second bite.

"Alright, Titans. Let's get started."

* * *

And that was chapter two! Some things:

Beast Boy's second dream is actually my one-shot _Hellooo Nurse_, if anyone wants to read it. Have no fear though. This isn't just shameless self-promoting (for the most part). The inaccurate/AU portion of it describing how Robin asked out Starfire is actually relevant to the plot I have in mind for this.

Speaking of plots, I'd very much like to finish this work, for myself as much as anyone else who's interested in reading, so I am in the market for a beta. I want someone I can bounce ideas off of and to crack down on me when I need it. PM me if you're interested! Knowledge of writing and the DC universe is preferred.

PLEASE REVIEW! I know it probably seems like fanfiction authors in general are just attention-whoring when they say this, but it really does help get the creative juices flowing when you have that kind of concrete evidence of people reading, appreciating, and hoping for your work. Plus, constructive criticism is good too.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own _Teen Titans._

* * *

"There'll be a security booth near the gate and cameras located around the perimeter," Richard was saying. "Do you think we should get dogs? I like dogs, but I think they might be a bit much."

Kori simply hummed, hoping Dick would make of it what he would. He did.

"Two dogs for the house then. They'll be trained as guard dogs, but they'll look like pets."

He was talking about the move again. He was so excited, repeatedly going over every detail of their plans for when they finally relocated to Bludhaven. To the world, Richard would be Dick Grayson, come to Bludhaven to launch a branch of Wayne Corp. She would be Kori Anders-Grayson, his supermodel philanthropist wife. The two of them, and of course Bruce Wayne, were being hailed as heroes by the press for launching a branch of one of the most successful companies in the Western Hemisphere in a place as poverty-stricken as Bludhaven. The men would bring jobs with their company. Kori would bring poverty relief with her charities. She was also playing with the idea of possibly starting either her own modeling agency or clothing line to be based in Bludhaven. That would create even more jobs.

She truly was looking forward to going to Bludhaven. Though she had only been there once, and many others in her acquaintance found its squalor disconcerting, she honestly found the city quite beautiful. Its stark appearance reminded her a bit of Tamaran. She was looking forward to helping the people, as both Starfire and Kori. The warrior in her relished the challenge a place like Bludhaven presented. She also appreciated how Dick included her in the plans for fortifying their soon-to-be home. The fact that Earth men often excluded women from this kind of planning still baffled her, even after several years on the planet.

However, she was not really paying attention to her husband's planning at the moment. Instead, now that the move was so close, she was thinking of how much she and her friends had changed since their first meeting so many years ago. Back then, Dick had just been Robin: an angry, militaristic boy with so much to prove to the world. She had been Starfire: an insecure alien constantly on the edge of being overwhelmed by a world she was sometimes certain wanted nothing to do with her. Victor had been Cyborg: a damaged boy who always felt like he was straddling the line between humanity and monstrosity. Raven's problem had been nearly identical, though she dealt with it in a different way. She'd hidden herself from the world, and it had been months before any of them had gotten any idea of what she was truly like. Garfield had been Beast Boy: a child; there truly was no other way to describe him.

Now, everything was different. Robin was now Dick, or Nightwing to the rest of the world. He was her husband and her everything. It had taken years, but he had finally opened up to her. He'd let her in, told her his name, and then eventually asked her to take it as her own. There was very little evidence of the angry boy she'd met. Now, he was loving and warm and so proud of his plans to make a difference in the world. He was a brilliant warrior and hero, and he no longer felt like he had to prove it every single day.

She herself had changed as well. Looking back, she realized her friends had protected her from many things when she was young, assuring her that it was perfectly alright that she spoke in a strange accent and didn't understand colloquialisms or the proper way to combine foods. Referring to her worth as a person, they were right; there was nothing wrong with enjoying a good mustard-frosted cake once in a while. As a hero however, those things did matter. Her naiveté and inability to blend in had initially made questioning possible suspects hard and undercover operations impossible. To improve herself, she had made Dick put her on numerous undercover and plainclothes missions until she learned. She was no longer as naïve as she was, and she thought she was much more effective as a hero.

"Razor wire would be more of a deterrent, but it might also send a message to the people that we don't trust them. That's not a good message to send when we're supposed to be offering them jobs and 'a better deal,' so to speak. What do you think?"

"Shards of glass." she said absentmindedly. Dick had already mentioned such a thing when he was planning the security measures around the house, so she didn't have to go into much detail about it.

"...embedded in the cement on top of the wall. It would deter actual criminals while being subtle enough to not broadcast a belief that we think everyone there is a criminal. Brilliant, Kori."

"Hmm..."

Cyborg was now Victor to her, though his codename remained unchanged. Overall, he was probably the one who had changed least. He was a bit larger, with more impressive armor and better technology, but for the most part, he was still the fun-loving, "larger than life" man who thought himself everyone's older brother. He still had his occasional dark moods, where he wondered if he could be counted among the monsters, but those instances were becoming fewer and further in between, especially his invitation to join the Justice League.

Kori smiled at the memory. Once he'd finished screaming like an overexcited _bumgorf—_off-screen, of course, so Superman didn't see him—Cyborg accepted the job, and he would move to Seattle as soon she and Richard moved to Bludhaven. In addition to fighting crime on the streets, he would be taking a position similar to that of Oracle in Gotham. Between the two of them brokering information, Kori was sure they would be the only people left in the country with secrets. She suspected one such secret was that Victor and Barbara were much closer than they appeared. They presented a challenge to one another intellectually, they both understood the alternating moments of doubt and determination to overcome that came with being "disabled" superheroes, and she was sure Victor found Barbara's feisty nature most attractive. She didn't know Babs as well as Victor, but she did adore them both and wished them the best if her suspicions proved correct.

The happiness that would come with new love and relationships would be wonderful for their little family, especially after all they'd lost. She sighed at the thought of Raven. The sorceress had been more of a sister to her than Blackfire had ever been. A part of herself died when they lost Raven. Changeling, now Gar to her, died with her as well, in Kori's opinion. His body was still here; he still spoke in Garfield's voice, but the light in his eyes that had made him almost indistinguishable from the cheerful young boy she knew had been gone for a long time. She thought she had seen glimpses of it in recent months, like when he pulled several pranks during her and Richard's anniversary party three months ago, but now she was not so sure. In the three days it had been since their fight with Mumbo, Changeling had been acting very strangely. She was worried for him.

"Kori!"

Kori jumped. "Oh! Yes, Dick?"

"Everything okay?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"You seem kinda...distracted. Normally, you're more involved in this kind of planning."

"I am sorry. I was just thinking."

"What about?" Richard asked, rolling up the schematic for their soon-to-be home.

Kori sighed and reached across the table to grasp her husband's hand. She squeezed it before looking up at him. "I know you are excited about the relocation. I am as well, but do you think we could possibly postpone it? For just a _little_ longer?" she pleaded when her husband's expression changed to one of exasperation.

"Kori, we've been putting off this move for over three years," he said, looking at her a bit reproachfully.

"I know, but we had very good reasons for it."

"I'm not arguing with you there, but I don't see what would be keeping us from moving now. We've outgrown the Teen Titans, Kori. We all need to go our own ways."

Kori sighed. Dick was about to launch into his speech about how they had grown up; that they needed to go their own ways if they wanted to be taken seriously as heroes, and Jump City no longer really needed them anyway. She could admit that she agreed with him; she had actually been wanting a more private dwelling since she and Richard married, but now was not the time for her husband's "team leader" rhetoric.

"Richard, I am worried about Garfield." she said quickly.

Dick stopped mid-speech. "Gar? Why?"

"I just worry that..." She paused, trying to think of the best way to say it. "I worry that he might feel we are abandoning him."

"We aren't abandoning anyone, Kori. We talked about this when started planning the move. We may not all be living together anymore, but that doesn't mean our friendship's over or that we won't help each other." he said reassuringly.

"Raven was still alive when we discussed this!"

Dick looked confused, so Kori explained.

"_We_ are moving to Bludhaven. Victor is going to Seattle to work for the Justice League. Garfield _was_ going to host a nature show after he and Raven went into semi-retirement to raise the baby. Our plans and Cyborg's plans have not changed, but a crucial part of Garfield's plans have. I worry that when we leave him, he will feel that he has no purpose." The thought of her dear friend spending his life alone and directionless broke her heart. Dick sighed and took her other hand, giving it a squeeze.

"We talked about this with Garfield at our anniversary party, remember? He said he was alright. He'd be fine if we went ahead with the move."

"Someone can say they are alright, but that does not mean they are!" Kori exclaimed, her voice rising. She tugged her hands from Richard's. "Garfield knows how much you want to move. He might have been lying, so he did not keep us back!"

"So, it's about how much _I _want to move now?" Richard demanded, standing. "You wanted to go too! You couldn't stop talking about it when I first brought it up! Going on and _on _about how we'll finally have a place of our own and how much good you can do with your charities!"

"I know!" Kori snapped, standing as well. "And I still wish to go, but not if it is at the expense of one of our friends! Garfield needs us!"

"It's been almost eighteen months! I loved Raven too! Next to you, she was probably the most important woman in my life, but I can't, _we_ can't, put our lives on hold because she's gone. She wouldn't want us to do that, and you know it! We need to move on!"

"Raven would also want us to help our friends! We are a family, and Garfield needs us!"

"I don't think _Gar _is the problem here, Kori." Richard said derisively.

"And just _what _is that supposed to mean?!" Kori shrilled.

"It _means,_" he drawled, getting up in her face. "That _you're _the one who doesn't want to move, and instead of telling me, you're using Gar as a crutch!"

Kori gasped. "I would never do such a thing! I know how important this is to you, to us, but—"

"But what then? And don't bring Gar into this!"

"Why do _you _refuse to believe that he is still mourning his _notha lek bumgorf!?_" she demanded, slipping into Tamaranean.

"I have no doubt he's still mourning them!" Richard yelled, also Tamaranean but with a heavy accent. "I'm sure he'll mourn them the rest of his life, but he's been getting better for months now, Starfire! He gets up at a reasonable time. He eats regularly and socializes again. He even pulled those stupid pranks at our anniversary party! The only reason I didn't kill him for embarrassing me like that is because _that _proved it for me!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little. "If he's okay enough to put _Bruce Wayne _in a tutu or tell us he's okay with us moving, he's okay with us moving!" he finished in English.

"Three months ago, I would have agreed with you, Richard. I would have agreed with you one _week _ago, but ever since the battle with Mumbo, I am not so sure." Kori stopped, ready to cry at the memory. She had not seen so much pain and rage in Garfield's eyes since Raven's death. It made her heart ache for him.

At the sight of Kori's obvious distress, Dick sighed and dropped his hands from Kori's shoulders. "You really are worried about Gar, aren't you?"

"That is what I have been trying to say!" Kori snapped, exasperated. "In between your accusations that I wish to ruin your career!"

"I never said that, and you know it." Dick said patiently.

Kori huffed and looked away from him.

"Kori?" Dick asked. She didn't move. "Kori, look at me."

After a moment, she did, expression sullen. "I find it hurtful that would accuse me of being cowardly enough to jeopardize our future without giving you an acceptable reason why." she said coolly.

"I know, and I'm sorry," he said, leaning forward so his forehead touched Kori's. "It's just this is the kind of thing I've been waiting to do my entire life. I don't regret my time with Batman, and I _definitely _don't regret my time as a Titan, but I'm ready to do something on my _own _terms, without having to worry about following someone else's orders or watching out for a team."

"Does this mean you would not want to work with me?" Kori asked. Her tone was sad, but she knew Dick had caught on to her trick years ago.

He grinned at the knowledge that she was no longer truly angry with him. He kissed her forehead, making her smile. "There's honestly no one I would rather work with."

"I feel the same way." She was silent for a moment. "but that does not stop me from worrying about Garfield." she added, making Dick groan in exasperation. He looked her in the eye.

"I know you are. I am too, but like I said, we can't continue to put our lives on hold. He can't put _his _life on hold. The thing with Mumbo... it was just a bit of a setback. That's all. It happens during the grieving process, but Gar will be fine."

"He is acting the way he did immediately after Raven's death. He is sleeping nearly all the time, and I do not believe he is eating well."

"He's not _that—_"

"Have you seen him today, Richard?" she interrupted. "I have not, and it is one-thirty in the afternoon. I just fear that this 'setback' will get worse if we leave him now."

"Kori, I—"

Before he could finish his sentence, an inhuman scream ripped through the tower.

Kori bolted in search of the source, Dick hot on her heels.

* * *

_It had been a long time since he'd last been in a nightclub, and sadly, it wasn't really as fun as he remembered. The rapidly blinking strobe lights made him dizzy, the music's throbbing bass and ridiculously high volume was murder on his enhanced hearing, even though he was wearing mostly hidden earplugs, and he was kind of disturbed by just how much semen he could smell among the alcohol and cheap cologne and perfume. That was just _wrong.

_However, he couldn't say he was bothered by the company. He gave the woman sitting next to him in the booth a grin, and she rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the dance floor. As usual, she was the responsible one of the two of them, trying to get their job done. Tonight, that was trying to find the source of a new club drug that had been found in all the systems of a recent string of dead bodies. It was starting to get out of hand, so JCPD had called the titans for help. Dick now had them all working undercover, scouring the clubs until they found something._

_ Changeling wanted to be responsible, but so far, he hadn't even caught a whiff of what they were looking for. Nearly every other drug, yes, but not the big one, so instead, he focused his attention on his surly partner. Like him, she wore a holo-ring to disguise her distinctive coloring; her light gray skin was now on the pale side of the "peaches and cream" coloring (whatever that meant), her hair was black and cut into an edgy pixie cut that made her already striking eyes look even more aamzing in his opinion, and she'd been forced into the most out-of-character outfit Kori could think of: a tube top that looked like it was made completely of silver sequins, black leather pants, and a silver pair of strappy, sky-high torture machines, er, _heels._ As usual, he thought she looked gorgeous, but knowing how much she hated the outfit, he knew not to say much about it or she'd hit him. She groaned in annoyance, and he quickly looked back at the floor._

_ "What?" he asked, like he hadn't just been staring at her._

_ "I don't know why Dick thinks we'd be of any use in this place. I feel like I'm being bombarded by the emotions of excitable people, and I imagine all you can smell is alcohol and semen."_

_ Changeling snorted. _It's funny 'cause it's true_, he thought. When he spoke though, he thought he made a pretty good point._

_ "It's not just us doing this, Rae. The rest of the team and a good chunk of JCPD are in places just like this, trying to find these creeps."_

_ Raven huffed. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."_

_ "The only reason you don't like this kind of scene is because you're not doin' it right."_

_ Raven stared at him. "I'm _not _dancing or drinking, Gar."_

_ "I didn't think you would," he snickered. A guy on the dance floor caught his attention, and he grinned. "but those are just two ways to have fun in a club. The third way is much more your style." He pointed to the guy on the dance floor as subtly as he could._

_ Raven looked in the direction he indicated, and her eyes went wide. "What is he doing?"_

_ Gar snickered again. "I think that move was called the 'Trip Hop' back in 1995."_

_ "It looks like he's having a Charley Horse."_

_ "You know, I'm pretty sure that's how that move was invented." He snickered again and cocked his head in the direction of another dancing clubber. "What do you think's going on over there?"_

_ Raven focused on the woman for a second, and Gar, realizing what she was doing, gave her shoulder a hard shake to distract her. She snapped her head in his direction and glared at him, outraged at his audacity._

_ "No powers!" he chided, ignoring the terror that came with doing something that annoyed Raven. "It's funnier to make up your own commentary for what's happening with bad dancers and drunk people."_

_ "I don't _do_ funny," the sorceress deadpanned._

_ "But you _do_ mock other people's stupidity. The whole time we've known each other is just one big, shining parade of you making fun of mine."_

_ Raven appeared unconvinced. "You do realize that woman might actually be having a seizure, because of these stupid strobe lights, right?"_

_ Gar rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Fine. If you _legit _think somebody's having a medical problem, you can use your powers. Other than that," He gestured toward the crowd of dancers. "have at them."_

_ "Can I at least check on seizure lady before we play your stupid game?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ Raven focused on the dancing woman, and her expression turned thoughtful. "She's not having a seizure. She really is just dancing _that _badly."_

_ "Told you." Gar laughed. He pointed to a drunk girl wailing loudly in the opposite corner. He was fairly certain she wasn't really that messed up, because the girls she seemed to be with looked annoyed and exasperated, rather than sympathetic or worried._

_ Raven focused on the girl, and Changeling gave her another shove. She glared at him._

_ "Would you stop that?"_

_ "No powers!"_

_ "If you keep shoving me, you won't have to worry about powers." Raven snapped._

_ "Alright!" Gar held up his hands. "Just don't forget the 'no powers' thing."_

_ "Fine," Raven huffed. She looked back at the woman. "That girl is crying pathetically because," Gar opened his mouth to tell her she was being kind of harsh when she pointed to someone else in the club. "she likes that guy, and he is clearly gay."_

_ Gar followed her gaze and let out a braying guffaw before he could stop himself, drawing curious stares from the people in the booth next to them. He clapped a hand over his mouth, but it didn't completely stop his laughter. The man Raven pointed to looked exactly like his old team leader Mento. Or would have if Mento had ever been on _Ru Paul's Drag Race._ The man's long, multi-colored hair had been bound into seven ponytails and arranged in a mohawk, clearly reminiscent of that one _American Idol _contestant from years ago, he wore more makeup than Kori did when she first learned about the 'delightful, paint-like substance,' and his outfit consisted of a red, poet-style shirt open to his navel with leather pants tighter than Raven's._

_ "You did that on purpose." he accused when he saw Raven's smirk._

_ "I have no idea what you are talking about," she replied dismissively. "I was merely following the rules of your game."_

_ "Uh-huh. Sure you were," he chortled. He made the mistake of looking back at the Mento lookalike right when he started to dance, and Gar let out a howl before slumping forward, beating the tabletop with his fist in his mirth._

_ "Well, that was an unexpected bonus," Raven commented, her amusement evident. She cocked her head as she examined the flamboyant man. "I wasn't aware that men... what's that move called again? Twerking?" That started a fresh round of howls for Garfield. "I wasn't aware men twerked."_

_ "Oh, God." Gar gasped. He'd quit beating on the table, but his forehead was still pressed against it. He turned to look at Raven. "That was great."_

_ "Does this mean I win?" Raven asked, examining their drink menu disinterestedly._

_ Garfield shot upright. "It means we are just getting started, Missy, and you just brought it."_

_ "I am shaking." Raven replied, rolling her eyes, but he could see she was still amused._

_ For a while, that was how they kept themselves entertained. One would pick a club patron, and the other would either comment on their dancing or come up with a reason for their sudden emotional outburst, be it laughter, tears, or amorousness. The longer they did this, the more Raven seemed to get into it, much to Changeling's delight. She came up with increasingly elaborate back stories that had him howling in laughter more than once, especially since they were delivered in that deadpan tone of hers. He was also thrilled when he actually made her laugh out loud one time. It was after that turn when he saw his next target._

_ "What about that guy?" He directed Raven's attention to a douchey looking guy chatting up a girl at the bar who clearly wasn't interested. The dude reminded him of someone, and he wanted to see if Raven could see it too._

_ "Oh God," Raven drawled, making a disgusted face. "and you accuse _me _of picking someone on purpose." Apparently, she could see the similarities._

_ "Dude looks just like Adonis, right?"_

_ "If I wasn't sure he was in prison, I'd be arresting this guy right now."_

_ "Any comments?" Gar asked._

_ "He's a jerk who doesn't understand the word 'no'?"_

_ "Besides the obvious."_

_ "No, and I'm not interested in thinking about that guy long enough to come up anything." Raven said dismissively. She picked up her largely neglected green tea spritzer and took a sip._

_ "Fair enough," Gar replied. He winked at Raven. "Besides, I don't like you thinking about other guys that much either."_

_ "And there goes my plan to leave you for Mento and Sanjaya's lovechild."_

_ Gar choked back another guffaw. Choosing to ignore her unexpected knowledge of _American Idol _trivia for now, he looked at her with wide, earnest eyes. "I'm sorry I'm standing in the way of your happiness, baby."_

_ Raven snorted. "Don't call me 'baby.'"_

_ "Yes, ma'am." he replied, rolling his eyes playfully. He looked back at Adonis-Clone and stuck out his tongue in distaste. "Okay, dude needs to be stopped, seriously. Look at that."_

_ Raven looked in the other man's direction and narrowed her eyes. _

_ Adonis-Wannabe had gotten even more up in the girl's face, leaning on the bar and leering down her shirt._

_ "Should we intervene?"_

_ "I think this needs more...finesse." Gar replied, grinning slowly._

_ "How so?" Raven asked suspiciously._

_ "We should pants him."_

_ Raven raised a brow at him. "Ignoring the fact that that is _blatantly _juvenile, even for you, what about that requires finesse?"_

_ "In a normal situation, nothing. But in this situation," Gar waggled his eyebrows at her. "I have a lovely assistant who can move stuff with her mind."_

_ Raven went back to her drink "No."_

_ "Come on, Rae!"_

_ "No. I refuse to use my magic for something so stupid."_

_ "What would make it un-stupid?" Gar asked._

_ Raven stared at him. "Nothing, now that you've used the word 'un-stupid.'" She picked up her drink with both hands and sipped at it the way she would her normal cup of tea._

_ "Come on, Rae..." Gar coaxed. He moved closer to her and pointed to Adonis 2.0. "Look at him. Dude clearly deserves it. He looks like that creep Adonis. He won't leave that poor girl alone. He's wearing his pants in that stupid swag style you hate..."_

_ He almost missed it, but he was sure he saw Raven's thumb twitch against her glass right before a loud exclamation of "What the fuck?!" rang across the club. He swiveled his head in the direction of the source and let out a bark of laughter at the sight of Adonis-Person. Somehow, he'd been moved to the center of the dance floor, and his pants were now around his knees, revealing his holey _Spongebob Squarepants _boxers. Everyone directly around him was laughing, including the girl he'd been harassing._

_ "Nice underwear, dude!" Changeling called, drawing the attention of more clubbers and making them laugh. Face beet-red in both embarrassment and anger, the guy yanked his pants back up and quickly shuffled out of the club. Changeling looked back at Raven, his grin even bigger._

_ "I saw that."_

_ "Saw what?" Raven asked, taking another drink. To the casual observer, she'd be the picture of nonchalance, but Gar could see her staring at him over the rim of her glass, daring him to tell her just what it was he saw._

_ He just laughed and threw an arm over her shoulder. She didn't buck him. "Hilarious how he lost his pants like that," he commented. "Must have been the girl he was bugging."_

_ "Must have been," Raven said neutrally. She put her drink down and looked at him. "You know, we came here to do a job. Remember? Catching criminals?"_

_ Gar looked her over, his gaze lingering on her hips and legs. Her incredible legs drove him crazy any time, but when she did something as hot as letting her inner prankster out, they became even more irresistible right along with the rest of her. "You know what's really criminal around here?" he asked conversationally._

_ "What?" Raven replied, her tone letting him know she wasn't in the mood for funny business. She dated the wrong guy for that._

_ "Those pants. They are _definitely _criminal."_

_ "My pants?" Raven drawled, humoring him._

_ "Yeah. They're made of leather, which some poor animal had to die for, and the way they hug your legs and butt is practically indecent exposure. Criminal," He shook his head in apparent sadness and then looked at her solemnly. "You should take them off."_

_ "God, that line is terrible even for you." Raven snorted, making Garfield grin._

_ "I'm serious!" he protested, though he was sure Raven could hear the laughter in his voice. "I'd even say those pants are evil. The way they look on you is tempting me from the Vegetarian Path of Righteousness."_

_ Raven stared at him. "Vegetarian Path of Righteousness?" she deadpanned._

_ "Yep." Gar nodded sagely._

_ "The only reason I haven't hit you is because I don't want to discourage your sudden use of polysyllabic words."_

_ Gar laughed and tightened his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer. He nuzzled her neck, smiling at the sensation of her hair, her real hair just beneath the hologram, tickling his face. "Love you, baby."_

_ "Something's wrong, Garfield." Raven replied, her voice cool and forceful like it would be during a battle._

That wasn't right, _Gar thought vaguely. Puzzled, he straightened. "What do you mean, Rae?"_

_ When she looked at him, her expression wasn't that weirdly cute combination of relaxed and exasperated. Instead, she looked a bit sad. And confused. Suddenly, he noticed the club was completely silent: no people or music._

_ "This isn't where _we _were."_

_ He'd heard those words before, but he couldn't place them. All he knew was that they caused fear and anguish. "Rae, what—"_

_ Before he could ask his question, a voice he hadn't heard in years—had hoped to never hear again—rang out._

_ "_When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east..._"_

_ Gar looked wildly around the room. It was completely empty. The tables and bar, everything but the booth they were sitting in, was gone, and the lights, almost blinding compared to the original dimness of the club, were on. It should have been easy to see the source of the voice, but the speaker was nowhere to be found. _

"_Rae," he said cautiously "We have to get out of here now." He turned to look next to him and was horrified to see the seat was empty. "Raven!" he yelled, panicked. The voice spoke again._

_ "_When the seas go dry..._"_

_ "Garfield!"_

_ He whirled and saw Raven standing in the center of the brightly lit dance floor. Her holo-ring was gone, her coloring back to its usual gray and purple. She wore civilian lounging clothes, and her stomach was distended. She was pregnant._

_ He jumped out of his seat. He tried to run to her, but he didn't seem to get any closer. He poured on more speed, sprinting now, and still he couldn't get to her. He turned into an antelope, cheetah, T-Rex._

_ She never got any closer._

_ "_When the mountains blow away in the wind like leaves..._"_

_ A gash appeared in the center of Raven's stomach, spurting blood and making her scream in agony._

_ "Raven!" Gar shouted, trying to run even faster. She was only twenty feet away! He had to get to her. He had to save her! He watched in horror as the area around her wound, clothes and all, began to turn dark gray and crack like burning wood._

_ "Find me, Gar!" Raven called. "Find us!"_

_ "_When you find another woman able to carry a changeling's child..._"_

_ A second gash opened up over Raven's heart, making her cry out again, weakly. There was more blood, and then the area around it also began to turn dark gray and crack._

_ "RAVEN!" He looked wildly around the room for the source of the voice. "LET ME HELP HER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he bellowed. There was no reply._

_ He looked back at Raven. To his horror, the grayness was spreading. The infection around both wounds met, and almost all of Raven's upper body, from her shoulders to hips, looked like it was made of ash. He tried to run even faster._

_ Suddenly, whatever spell that had kept him in place was lifted, and he bolted to her. The grayness was spreading quickly. By the time he was a couple of feet from her, everything but her head was gray and cracking. The areas right around the wounds were now pale gray and seemed to be crumbling away._

_ "Find us." she repeated in a whisper, right as the grayness overtook her head._

_ "RAVEN!" He reached for her, and she collapsed into a pile of ash. "NO!" he roared, dropping to his knees. He stared at the ashes, hands held out impotently in front of him. "No..."_

_ Suddenly, a pair of black and gray combat boots materialized in front of him, opposite Raven's ashes._

_ Changeling looked up._

_ "That is when Raven will return to you." Slade said._

* * *

Garfield woke screaming, the inhuman sound torn from his throat with enough force to strain his vocal cords. He felt a hand grab his shoulder, and he swung in the direction he thought it was coming from. He felt his fist connect with a face and saw his assailant sailing through the air away from him out of the corner of his eye. He leapt to his feet. Someone else reached for him. They were right in front of him, but he didn't, _couldn't_, see their face. He just saw hands reaching for him.

He shifted into a tiger and leapt at the attacker, but before he connected, he saw a blur of purple and orange leap in front of his target. A blow to his chest sent him into the opposite wall. Though the first hit hadn't deterred him, his connection with the wall was enough to disorient him. Shaking his head to clear it, he finally saw that he wasn't in an empty club, and it wasn't Slade or any other enemy after him. He was in his bedroom, and his friends were there. Victor was using a wall to help pull himself up, cradling his jaw, and Kori was hovering in front of Dick, her hands glowing with green energy. They all looked at him with extreme caution... like they were trying to approach a dangerous animal.

"Guys?" Gar asked, dread creeping up inside him. "What just happened?"

"I think that's our line, Green Bean," Cyborg replied, working his jaw. Once he seemed to be satisfied that it wasn't broken, he turned his full attention to Garfield. "If I had to guess though, I'd say you had a night terror. One bad enough to make you give me one hell of a left hook and go _Jungle Book _on Dick."

"Guys..." Remorse and shame mixed with the dread in him. "I am _so _sorry."

"You were not yourself." Kori replied, gently touching back down to the ground and extinguishing her starbolts. "Are you alright?"

Gar let out a bark of bitter laughter. "I think _that _is my line."

"The worst you did is something that can be fixed in just a few minutes," Dick said, stepping around Kori. He looked to Cyborg, and the bionic man nodded in agreement. He looked back at Changeling. "That sounded like a really bad nightmare though, Gar."

"You screamed," Kori added. "It was very alarming. You did not sound like you."

"You okay, man?" Victor asked.

"Fine," Gar replied quickly. "Just a bad dream."

His friends had just started treating him normally again, like he wouldn't shatter into a thousand pieces if they did or said something that even sort of reminded him of Raven or the baby or the monster that killed them. He didn't want to go back to that place where they walked on eggshells around him and pretended to be happy when they weren't. One mention of Slade or a dream about Raven dying would send all that progress to hell. His friends trying to play therapist was the last thing he needed right now.

"You are certain?" Kori asked.

"Yes." Gar said, kind of stiffly. His friends exchanged glances, not even trying to be subtle about it, and that annoyed him. They could at least _pretend _they didn't think he was cracked in the head.

"Um, you know Gar—" Dick started.

"I said I'm fine."

"But you have not had nightmares this bad since Raven..."

"Can you guys leave please?" Gar interrupted Kori. "I need to get dressed."

"Man, the thing with Mumbo—" Vic started.

"This has nothing to do with the thing with Mumbo!" Gar finally snapped. "It was just a bad dream! We _all _have them. That kind of shit happens!"

"You experienced a vivid hallucination of your dead wife three days ago," Dick broke in with his 'leader' voice. Vic and Kori cringed at his bluntness, while Garfield just stared. The only person to ever come out and just say his wife was dead was Bruce Wayne. Most people just trailed off meaningfully or said things like 'passed away.' "It's completely normal for you to have a mild setback grieving-wise, like a nightmare, after something like that. It doesn't make you less of a man to react that way." Gar cringed noticeably, but Dick ignored him and kept speaking. "All I ask is that you talk about it. It's better if you do, alright?"

"Fine," Gar replied rigidly. "Will you guys leave now?"

"Gar..." Vic started.

"What?!" he snapped. "I had a nightmare, okay? It was bad, and it was about Raven, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?!"

"If it's the truth." Dick answered, still in leader-mode. His other friends were looking at him sympathetically, in that way he hated.

"It is, but I don't want to go into details, alright? It was just an ugly dream that I want to forget. It won't make me turn into a mess like I was when Rae died, okay?"

His friends looked at him for a moment. Dick nodded first and left the room, Kori at his heels. She turned in the doorway and gave him a reassuring smile before stepping out of the room. Vic slapped him on the back and then followed the others out.

* * *

In the hallway, Kori gave Dick a pointed look. He looked back in the direction of Gar's room. He sighed and looked back at Kori.

"One more month."

* * *

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